This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
July 24, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 52
Target: Nordisk Magnesium/Aluminum Factory,
Heroya, Norway
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 15,350 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,700 rounds
View Mission Report
July 24, 1943
8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 75: Three targets in Norway are attacked. This is Eighth's first mission to Norway and its longest (1,900 miles or 3,040 km round trip) to date.
1. 179 B-17's and 1 YB-40 are dispatched against the nitrate works at Heroya, Norway; 167 aircraft hit the target at 1317-1414 hours; they claim 9-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost and 53 are damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 10 MIA. Work at the plant is disrupted for 3.5 months, and unfinished aluminum and magnesium plants are damaged and subsequently abandoned by the Germans.
2. 45 B-17's are dispatched against the port area at Trondheim; 41 hit the target; they claim 4-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 9 are damaged; casualties are 3 WIA.
3. 84 B-17's are dispatched against the port area at Bergen; they find 10/10 cloud cover and return to base with their bombs. Crews successfully experiment with a new assembly procedure for occasions when bad weather conditions prevent ascent in formation. Aircraft take off individually on instruments, proceed to a designated splasher beacon for group formation, and then along line of 3 splasher beacons for force assembly. The method works well and makes possible many future missions which might otherwise have been abandoned.
July 24, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 211
Target: "Operation Cobra" Supporting US 1st Army
St. Lo, France
Crews Dispatched: 38
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 38 x 100 lb G.P. M30 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 15,000 ft
View Mission Report
July 24, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 492: Heavy bombers are scheduled to participate in a US First Army offensive (Operation COBRA) to penetrate the German defenses W of Saint-Lo and secure Coutances; 1,586 bombers and 671 fighters are dispatched but bad weather causes the ground forces to delay the attack until next day, and cloud conditions cause 1,102 bombers to abort. Targets hit are: 1. Of 909 B-17s, 343 hit the Periers/St Lo area and 35 hit the Granville railroad junction; 1 B-17 is lost and 70 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 1 WIA and 1 MIA. 2. 109 of 677 B-24s bomb targets of opportunity including road intersections and rail lines; 2 B-24s are lost and 74 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 20 MIA. Escort for the bombers is provided by 478 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-38s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 1 P-47 is damaged. 143 of 169 P-51s fly a sweep over Lechfeld and Leipheim Airfields in Germany; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft in the air and 12-0-16 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 6 damaged. Mission 493: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 6 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
July 24, 1945
VIII Fighter Command: The 4th, 7th, 18th and 391st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 34th Bombardment Group (Heavy), begin a movement from Mendelsham, England to the US with B-17s.
July 23
July 25
